Motor-sled.



PALM.

MGTGR SLED.

APPLICATION lFlL" D SBFTQ 1R Patented Feb. 9, l la ETT 2,

3 SHEBTSMSB P. W. PALM.` MOTOR SLBD..y

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1912,

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

lllillllllhlli iillldillhlli FAWEENT @FF EER VT. PALM, F BAUDETTE,MINNESOTA.

MOTOR-SIDED.

riet/,sei

Application tiled September 13, 1912.

vehicles, and particularly to motor driven sleds or sleighs.

T he main object of my invention is to provide a motor driven sled orsleigh in which "traction is secured by the use of endless tractionelements housed in the runners oit the sled.

Another object is the provision of a moto I driven sled in which theendless traction elements are yieldingly mounted so as to accommodatethemselves to travel either over a rough or an even surface, and overeither relatively 'soft' snow or hard ice.

A. further object is to provide means whereby a. motor driven sled maybe either driven forward or backward as desired, and particularly inthis connection to provide a traction element having dogs or teethrigidly mounted' for driving the sled forward, and a series of dogs orteeth, which when the endless traction element is driven backward willhe caused to project so as to engage the ground.

A further object is to provide a motor driven sledwhose runners are somounted with relation to the body that the runners may have free pivotalmovement with relation to the body, each runner independent of any otherrunner of the sled, so as to provide a sled in which the runners willaccom- [i .tui-'ther object is to provide yielding1 means normallyacting to lorce the prongs or teeth of the endless traction clement intotraf-tive engagement with the surface over which the sled moves.

A further ob]ect lis to provide means Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, i915.

Serial No. 720,300.

whereby the sled may be driven'froin an en gine disposed over theforwardrunners, thus leaving the rear portion of the sled entirely free for thesupport of merchandise.

Still another object is to provide a very etfective forni of steeringgear whereby the forward runners may be shifted to guide i the sled. y

@ther objects will appear in the course of the following description.

An embodiment or' iny invention is illus trated `in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein: l

Figure l `is a longitudinal section cfaA motor driven sled constructedin accordance with my invention; Fig. is an underside plan view thereof;Fig. 8 is a. vertical enlarged section of one of the rear runners on theline 3 3 of Fig. 2, the tractionelement disposed within the runner beingshown in elevation; Fig. d is av vertical section on line or' Fig. 3,the section being on a relatively .large scale; F ig. 5 is an elevationpartly in section of the forward runners showing the manner in whichthey are connected to the trame or' the sled; Fig. 6 is a 1Fraginentaryside elevation of a portion of the traction chain; Fig. 7 is an underside plan view of the link shown in Fig. 6; Fig.

t? is a 'fragmentary sectional view of a moditied forni ot' tractionchain; Fig. 9 is a fruginentary detail view showing a portion of one ofthe side runners in section and its engagement with one of the rearbraces; Fig. l0 is a detail view of the support for the shafts ot therear runners; and Fig. ll is an elevation partly in section of a sledconstructed in accordance with my invention and showing aY modiliedmanner of driving the endless traction elements.-

Referring' to these drawings, 2 designates the body or' the sled whichmay be of any suitable material, and have, generally speaking, anysuitable form. Preferably and as illustrated, the rear portion of thesled is narrower than the front portion so as to accommodate the rearrunners 3. As illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the rear runners arehollow so as to inclose within them the endless traction elementdesignated gen'- erally 5, the detail ofwhieh will be later described.The forward end of the sled is lOO supported on front runners 6. Theserunners are solid inasmuch as they are not intended to house anytraction elements. rlhe forward runners are supported upon the body 'ofthe sled by means of braces 7. 'lhese braces, as illustrated in Figs. 2and 5, are three in number on each side of the sled, and meet as atpoint 8 where they are pivoted by means of a bolt 9 to an upwardlyprojectingl vertically disposed pivot pin or king bolt 10, which isrotatably mounted in any suitable manner Within a bearing 11 supportedupon the underside of the sled. As before stated, there are three ofthese braces 7 on each side, The middle brace 7a on each side ispivotally connected to the `runners 6 so that the runners 6 are rotatedin a vertical Vplane.\'l.`he laterally disposed braces 7* on each sideof the brace 7, ho-W- ever, have a sliding connection with the runners,as illustrated in Fig. 5 and Fig. 9,

vthat is, each of the runners on each side of the middle is formed withan arcuate curved slot l2, and the brace 7 is formed with. .a 'lshapedhead 18 which moves vertically in this slot, the head being held inplace Within' the slot by a slotted plate 14: bolted or Aother,-A wiseattached to the runners. 1t will thus be seen that the forward runnersare pivotally mounted for movement in a vertical plane, and that bothrunners are also mounted for pivotal movement in a horizontal transverseplane upon the pivot pin or bolt 9, and further that the pair of rnnnersis rotatably movable in a horizontal plane upon the king bolt 10. T husthe runners will accommodate themselves to inequaliz ties in the groundso that not only may the forward end of each runner behigheror lowerthan the rear end, but that one runner may be disposed on a higher planethan the other runner. i

The forward runners turn in a" horizontal plane for steering movement bymeans of a gear wheel 1.5 attached to or mount'ed upon the king bolt 10,and which is engaged by a pinion le mounted upon a vertical shaft 17supported in suitable bearings and carrying at its upper end a bevelgear wheel 18 which meshes with a bevel gear wheel lt) on a horizontalshaft 2() carrying the steering wheel 2l.

lt will be obvious -that byV rotating the steering wheel 21 in onedirection or the other the forward runners iiay be turned in onedirection or the other. t will further be obi ious that the free play ofthe forward runners in a vertical plane does not interfere with thesteering of the vehicle,

By reference to Figs. 2, 3 and i it will be seen that the rear runnersare coinposed of spaced sides 2i). held apart at their ends by means ofspacing members rl`he bottom of the runner is open and disposed withineach runner is a traction element 5, com# posed of a plurality of links24, these links being illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. Each link in theformshown in Figs. 6 and 7 is bifurcated at one end as at 25 and itsopposite end is reduced in thickness to form an ear 26.

The bifurcated end of each link is rounded as at Q7, while the wall ofthe reduced portieri 26 is concave as at 28, see Fig. 6, so that thelinks will tit one within the other and have a firm engagement with eachother. The links are, of course, pivoted to each other by pintles 29.Each link is provided at one end with a downwardly projecting lug 30,one face of` this lug being inclined and the other face perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis of the link and adjacent the other end of thelink. Each link is provided with downwlafdly projecting ears 31 betweenwhich is pivoted a' tooth 32. This tooth has ttwo straight faces and atrightanglcs to each other and a curved ser- -Arated face 35. in itsnormal position the tooth is so turned that the face 34 bears againstthe under edge of the link, while .the face 33 extends verticallydownward. The tooth, however, is adapted to be turned l"to the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig.

6 by contact with the surface of the snow or ice so that the face 3iwill be extended ver-- tically downward and the face 33 will comein'contact with the. under lside of the link. The purpose of thisconstruction is to provide for reversing the movement of the sled.Normally the traction element runs in the direction of the arrow, Fig.G, and the tooth 30 engages with the snow or ice to propel the sledforward. 1f, however, the direction of inoven'iei'it of the tractionchain is reversed the inclined faces of the teeth 30 will prevent theteeth from engaging with the surface but the Contact of the surface withthe serrated face of the tooth will l.anse/the tooth to rotate to theposition shown., in dotted lines, thus causing the ltooth 52 to biteinto the surface and permit the traction chain to propel the sledrearlward. l ln place having the end of one link convexly rounded andfitting within the concavel)"curved end, as shown in Fig. (i. l may.provide one end of the link with a triangular jl'ace, as shown in Fig.8, wherein the links are designated 2l, the forward teeth 50", thepivoted teeth 32u, the pivot pin Q9, and wlierein the forviard end ofeach link isfornied with the angular faces ".72 As will be seen fromFig, ii. each link is formed alongit entire length with a. ribdesignated 3i), this rib being preferably located at the upper edge ofthe link. This rib is formed on lboth sides of the link.

The interior face of each side member 22 of each runner is grooved as at38 to form l a track within which the ribs of the links extend and bywhich the endless element is carried in a closed path. This groove isrelatively wide so as to permit a vertical play of the links for thepurpose to be hereafter stated'.

Disposedat opposite ends f the runners are the wheels or disks 39 whichcarry the endless element. These wheels are preferably polygonalin/form, and each face of the forced upward.

wheel has a length equal to the length of a 'link between the pivotalcenters thereof, as illustrated in Fig.. 3. Each of the angular faces ofthe wheel is provided with a centrally disposed arcuate rib 40 whichengages with a slot or recess formed on the middle line of each link.These wheels 39 are mounted upon shafts al which in turn are supportedin the side pieces 9.2 of the runner. One of these shafts, namely shaftil,

` extends through the runner, and is provided with a sprocket wheelhrvl2, as illustrated in Fig. l, whereby the endless element may bedriven.

In order to support the flights of the endless element, and in orderfurther to yieldingly force the endless element downward so as toprovide a `straight horizontal flight as long as possible extendingalong the bottom of the runner l provide a plurality of pairs of idlerwheels 4 3, each pair being mounted on a vertically disposed slide ladisposed in grooves l@ formed in the inside faces of the side pieces Thewheels r-lf rotate freely upon the supportingshafts 4.3 and the hubs ofthe wheels are preferably provided with lubricant ducts designated All",as illustrated in Fig. Sil. In order to secure access to the lu Ybricant ducts so that the wheels .lf3 may be lubricated, l provide theoutside wall 22 of cach runner with doors LS disposed adjacent one toeach of the wheels 43. These wheels and the slide let have a freevertical movement through a limited distance, and the levveimost wheelsbear downward upon the lower fiight of the endless traction cle-` ment 5so as to force the teeth of the endless elf-ment into the surface topermit the endless traction element to be forced upward when necessary.A middle pair of wheels is also provided, these being mounted upon aslide ll" which is slotted as at il" to accommodate the driving ashaftA:'lf). IThese wheels lo and the sdiles ll are very important. Then theroads are hard snow or consist of ice, the endlesselement will bellfhcn, however, the snow is soft the endless element will be presseddown by the wheels i3 and the slides il. lndcr such circumstances thcendless ele- Vment will alvv'ays keep close to the surface.

points of the calks or' teeth 30 and 32 Will`65 not go below therunners, but just even therewith. The endless element, however, cannotbe projected outside of the runners as the rib on each link will engagethe groove in the sides of the runners.

Each runner is formed at its center with a bearing designated 50, seeFig. ll, through which the shaft 4Q passes. `This bearing is disposedimmediately at the middle of thc runner so that the runner has freerotation in a vertical plane upon the shaft elfi) as a center.

r[he shaft l5) is the `driving shaft by which power is transmitted fromthe engine. frs illustrated, this shaft has the form of a crank shaft,the crank or cranks disposed at the middle of the shaft beingoperatively connected to the engine, as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. ll.Mounted upon the opposite ends of the shaft L9 are sprocket wheels 5lover each of-which a sprocket chain 52 passes, this sprocket chainpassing over the corresponding sprocket wheel 4t2 whereby the endlesstraction element 5 is driven.

F or the support of the shaft e9, l; preferably attach to the insidepieces of each runner, the yoke or bracket illustrated in Fig. l0, andalso shown in Fig. el. rfhis bracket is designated rlhe bracket hasprojecting upwardly from it the arms 5l, and 5G spaced from each other,the arm 5l being connected tothe base 57 of the bracket as at 58. Thearms and 54 are connected by means of a tubular barrel 59. The crankshaft i9 passes through a bearing` in the arm 5G, the arm 55, barrel 59,the arm and the base 57.

The floor or body 2 of the sled is cutaway as at (30 to accommodate theupper end of the bracket and permit the runners and the brackets to havefree rotation upon the shaft -lf to a limited extent. Yokes or bearings6l are attached to the under face of the body 2, one von cach side ofthebody and through the opening (52 incach yoke the coresponding` barrel5l) passes so that the bracket is pivotally connected to the body of thesled. 'l`he sprocket Awheels 5l are disposed upon the shaft i9 betweenthe arm 54 and the base 5T. It will be seen that this manner of mountingthe drivingl shaft 49 and connccting it to the sled runners provides fora very firm support for the shaft and at the same time .provides for afree rockingl movement of the rear sled runners in a vertical plane, andthat this rockingl movement will not ali'ect in any way the driving ofthe chain or endless traction element The body 2 of the sled is alsoconnected to the runners by means of arms 63 depending from the underside of the body and angularly bent at their ends and provided withenlarged heads like ing l movement of the runners.

I do not wish to be limited to any particular manner of driving themotor sled as it is obvious ythat the driving shaft 49 might beconnected with a'motor in any suitable manner.

In Fig. ll-I have illustrated a very simple method of driving theendless elements of the rear runners and inthis form of my invention themotor engine 6'( is mounted upon the rear end of the sled, and has aconnectslot in lthe 'sled bottom and is directly c0nnected to the crankshaft 49. This construction, however, places the motor 67 at somedistance 'from the steering wheel, and to 'avoid this I preferably mountthe motor upon the forward end of the sled inthev manner shown in Fig.l. In this 'construction the motor (which is shown as a multi-cylindergasolene motor) is designated 69, and is A operatively connected to ashaft 70 which in turn is operatively connected to.a sprocketwheel 7lfrom which a sprocket chain 72 extends downward to a crank shaft 73..This crank shaft is connected by means of one or more connecting rods74 to the crank shaft 49. v

I have illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 only `one connecting rod 74, but itis obvious that 'a plurality of connecting rods might be used.Preferably the sprocket wheels 5l are independently driven from thecrank shaft 49, and to this end each sprocket wheel is mounted upon asleeve 75 carrying a clutch member 76 which engages with a clutch member7 7 mounted ,upon the driving shaft 49, levers being provided wherebythe clutches may be thrown into and out of engagement. By thisconstruction it, is possible to drive only one of the endless tractionelements, leaving the other' to run idle, and thus the sled may be .O'uided or turned very quickly in one direction or the other and verymaterially assist the steering action of the front runners 6. The frontrunners 6 are preferably laterally rounded upon their lower faces, butthe rear runners are preferably flat upon their lowerl faces.

The operation of my invention ywill be entirely clear from what has gonebefore. When the motor is in operation, the endless traction elements 5'-will be rotated in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, and this willact to propel the sled in a forward direction. Whenv the engine isreversed, the pivoted teeth will be thrown downward so as to rod 68which extends down through a' work sled, as it is obvious that the samec0n..

struction herein detailed might be applied to sleighs.

It is obvious that my sled is sol 'constructed that it will travel oververy rough and uneven ground and, therefore, is particularly adapted asa wood sled or for use in hauling timber.

As before stated, the whole power of the engine acts to force theendless traction elements downward. In detail it may be said that mymechanism operates to this end as follows. When the engine is operatingand the wheel 39 is rotating in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, theuriner or slack portion of the endless element will tend 'to straightenout. Consequently, the idler wheels 43 will be pressed down upon thelower Iiight of the belt with just the same power as it takes to move.the motor sled forward. In other words, the pressure of the endlesstraction element downward on the idler wheels is just as great as thepower transmitted to' it. When the engine is reversed, the endlesstraction element will be pressed upward by the same power because thelower flight of the traction element is trying to become straight. Whenthe road-y bed is too hard for .the traction element, it will be pressedupward. When, however. the road is level, the calks will be pressed downeven if the road consists of solid ice. ll hen the roads are rough sothat the runners are supported on both ends. the middles of the runnersbeing free, the traction element of course will move down to enga ge theroadbed, and when the road is soft,- the belt even then will be forceddownward.

Having described my invention, what I' 2. A motor sled including sledrunners` each hollow and open along its lower edge,

oppositely disposed wheels-mounted within 4 the sled runners, an endlesstraction chain composed of links passing over said wheels and having anupper and a lower flight, vertically movable slides within the runnerand between said flights, and wheels carried by 'said slides engagingthe upper and lower A hollow land open along its lower edge, forward andrear wheels, a traction element composed of an endless chain passingover said wheels, 'and spacing members mounted within the runner andbetween the upper and 'lower flights of the chain, the spacingmembersbeing longer than the diameter of said wheels, and wheels carriedat the ends of the spacing members.

4. A motor sled including a sled runner hollow and open along its loweredge, oppositely disposed wheels mounted within the runner, an endlesstraction chain passing over said wheels and composed of toothed links,vertically disposed sliding members mounted in the sides of the runnersbetween the flights kof the traction chain, said members being freelymovable vertically, wheels i carried upon the upper and lower ends ofthe slides and over which said chain passes, said members being longerthan the diam'- eter of the vfirst named 'wheels to space the upper andlower flights of the chain.

5. n a motor sled, a hollow runner open along its bottom edge,oppositely disposed wheels mounted within said runner and above thelower edge of vthe'runner, a loose traction chain composed of toothedlinks passing over said wheels, and three vertically movable slidingspacing vmembers disL posed between the upper and lower flights of thetraction chain, two of the spacing members being disposed adjacent thefirst named wheels, one being disposed in the middle of the runners andbeing longer than the other two, whereby to provide for taking up theslack of the chain, and urging the lower liight of the chainuniformly'into engagement with the surface.

6. A motor sled including a hollow runner open along its lower edge,oppositely disposed wheels mounted in the' runner, an endless tractionchain passing over said wheels and composed of links, 'each link havinga longitudinally extending laterally projecting rib, the inner faces ofthe ruimer being formed with relatively wide grooves for receiving saidribs, and limitingv the upward and downward movement of the v tractionchain, and vertically movable slides mounted within the runner andengaging the upper and lower flights of the chain,`

said slides being longer than the diameters of the lirst named wheels.

7. ln a motor sled, a pair of hollow runners, aftraction element mountedin each runner, a yoke projecting from the,'inside face of each runner,and including a plurality of spaced arms, a driving shaft passingthrough'said yoke and through the runners,.whereby the yoke and runnersare piv-A otally mounted upon thev driving shaft for rocking movement ina Vertical plane, and bearings mounted upon the body of the sledprojecting downward between vtwo of said arms on the first named yoke,and through which the -driving shaft .passes whereby to pivotallyconnect the body of the sled with the runners.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PER W. PALM. [Ls] Witnesses:

l lvLS'rEFrEs,

ALBERT BERG.

